HTPC Build: Intel 2100 or AMD A6-3500?

[GamingDaemon]

I think that the setup you described would do those things just fine. It's just that the "best" video quality with all the filters and such that AMD and nvidia can apply take some bandwidth. I'd encourage you to at least consider something like the 6570.

The G530 is fine. I like that the G620 retains all of the features and L2 cache of the i3 series, that's all. If the difference in price is more than $20 it's likely not worth it. Someday the "Pentium" might be easier to sell than the "Celeron."

Honestly, I had only really read half of the thread when I responded, sorry. I think you are on the right path.

That said, I wouldn't buy anything less than a Z68 motherboard if you are going Intel. Why limit yourself? Get the features you want now and don't be kicking yourself later - that's what I usually end up doing and then I am kicking myself later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128523

Do it right now and love it later. Z68 is good for Ivy Bridge too, so two years from now you can beef it up if you want just by doing a bios flash and a drop in...

That motherboard Lonyo linked to does look compelling if you are really wanting to say every dollar on your build....

Lastly, any chance you live near a Microcenter? I just redid my HTPC and used a $60 retail Phenom 2 (really an Athlon II x4, but whatever) and an 870 Motherboard - it cost ~$130 all told but I am sure that it'll have the power to do anything

Awesome, thank you for the detailed response. I agree with you and Arkaign that the 1155 has a better future than the FM1.

And I agree with you about the motherboard and getting what something now I will be happy with a year or two from now. Just once I would like to upgrade my CPU without having to replace the motherbaord too

One thing though: The one you and I linked doesn't have the USB 3.0 ports, but this one does:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128495 (also Gigabyte Z68, but $114)

The one that Lonyo linked looked good too, but I have been using Gigabyte exclusively for so long, I am a bit attached to them. I haven't used an ASRock mobo in years. Are they good?

I live out in Seattle, so no MicroCenter, but there is a Fry's. But I think between NewEgg and Amazon, I can find some good deals.

That said, now I just need a good case. I love me Fractal Design cases, but a mini tower isn't the right choice when I have a rack. I am thinking about this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163158

Or, this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163174

That should round it all out, plus an Antec earth watss 430W power supply and I am good (I already have a spare SSD and memory is cheap).

 

[GamingDaemon]

Sorry for the dual posts, but it looks like you are quite correct blckgrffn!

After reading this AnandTech article from June of this year, it's clear I need to either buy an nVidia 430 or a Radeon 6570.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4380/discrete-htpc-gpus-shootout/16

I read through most of the article, but the Final Words page really pretty much nails it.

So, I am usually an nVidia fan for gaming purposes, but I've heard that AMD is better for HTPC's. That said, they say if you are in neither camp, you should go with the nVidia 430. Anyone have an opinion?

I am looking at these two cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121448 (nVidia 430, $70)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127585 (Radeon 6570, $75)

Also, does everyone think a 400W PSU is enough for the 530 plus one of these video cards, an SSD, 4GB of memory and a Blu Ray drive?

Thank you again everyone for your responses!

 

[Lonyo]

A 400W PSU is more than twice what you need, realistically, and will be plenty more than enough.
I'm running a G620T, HD6450, 3xmehanical HDDs on a 160w PicoPSU and it uses under 50w most of the time.

 

[boxleitnerb]

Quick question because this still puzzles me:
Why does one need graphics (dedicated card, Llano) in a HTPC when it won't be used for gaming? As far as I understand you need a IGP that can decode Bluray/1080p etc. and that's it.

 

[Arkadrel]

Heres what you want:


ASRock A55M-HVS ~58$
(Supports Blu-ray Stereoscopic 3D w/ HDMI 1.4a)

AMD A6-3650 ~119$
(4x 2.6ghz) (Heatsink and Fan included)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) ~ 29$
F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (On motherboards supported list)

hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC Steel 7K09BBA30FNRX ~59$
(has a 300watt power supply that comes with case)

=

265$
without HDD or Dvd-drive, add those in and your ready to go.

Buy a Tv that does Stereoscopic 3D via HDMI, and some glasses.









Here is what the case Looks like (tiny since you dont need any discrete cards in it):

 

[Informant X]

I don't get why you people are recommending such expensive CPU's. I put one of the cheapest AMD cpu's in my HTPC from newegg believe this was it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103888

I was able to unlock it dual core and it does everything the OP says without any hiccup's issues. Explain to me what "future proofing" a HTPC means in regards to what it's going to be used for....

 

[Lonyo]

I don't get why you people are recommending such expensive CPU's. I put one of the cheapest AMD cpu's in my HTPC from newegg believe this was it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103888

I was able to unlock it dual core and it does everything the OP says without any hiccup's issues. Explain to me what "future proofing" a HTPC means in regards to what it's going to be used for....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116409
This is only $52, hardly massively more expensive, and you don't need to hope it unlocks.

 

[GamingDaemon]

Exactly what Lonyo said. The 530 is an overclocking machine, literally.

But that aside, the need for a discrete graphics card is that I fall into the category of the perfectionist. For the investment I have made in my home theatre (in my original post for this thread), I want the best playback possible. I am afraid I will be one of those that sees the extra frame when playing back 23.976Hz movies.

The Radeon 6570 and the nVidia 430 were the best at handling this issue according to AnandTech's recent article:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4380/discrete-htpc-gpus-shootout/16

So, that's the reason for the discrete video card. Yes, the IGP proc's could do Blu Ray playback, but I would have more options and better playback with one of those video cards.

As for the HEC case, I will look into that. I like that it has the 300W PSU included, but Silverstone has a better name for PSU's than HEC, AFAIK. That's why I was going to buy a separate one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256060

And the Silverstone case I was looking at even recommends that specific PSU:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=283&area=en

 

[tweakboy]

A Pentium 4 or Athlon XP can do HTCP just fine, get the cheapest video card and CPU. gl

 

[Informant X]

A Pentium 4 or Athlon XP can do HTCP just fine, get the cheapest video card and CPU. gl

Exactly...People are all talking about i3core this etc. etc. I have a 70 dollar Asus mobo with integrated AMD video and that 40 dollar CPU and it does everything I want it to. Flash, 1080P blu-ray, streaming etc. etc. without any issues. How do you "future proof" a HTPC anyway, makes no sense. Nothing in the movie industry is changing to require future proofing in stark contrast to lets say gaming where graphics are always pushing the envelope....

 

[gmaster456]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116409
This is only $52, hardly massively more expensive, and you don't need to hope it unlocks.

It doesn't need to unlock to handle HTPC tasks.

 

[GamingDaemon]

True, I can get away with using much less, but I have been given a budget of around $400 by my kind wife, so I plan to maximize the value for the money.

So I think the i3-530, nVidia 430 and the ASRock with USB 3.0 and SATA 3 is pretty amazing for that little bit of money.

And I will get buttery smooth playback, along with the ability to drop an Ivy Bridge proc down the road!

 

[Arg Clin]

This would make sense in theory, but the A6 is so slow GPU wise (it's still only the equal of SUPER low end discrete GPUs, even when combined with expensive DDR3-1866, and it's horrible on DDR3-1333 or lower) .. it doesn't seem like it makes a lot of sense.

With the 1155 build, dude could decide to drop in an IB 22nm quad in a year or two, and if GPU needs more juice, AMD 7650 or whatever in the future.

FM1 is a question mark right now, and 1155 is currently, and will likely remain to be, a lot more dynamic in terms of flexibility.

I am something of a hater of designs which share system memory with GPU memory though, going all the way back to turbocache Geforces and earlier designs.

Way faster than the HD2000/HD3000 though. For HTML5 and such I think Llano makes a lot of sense. No doubt that somewhere way down the road even the Llano GPU will become a bottleneck, but then you'll always have the option to go discrete GPU. It'll last much longer than the HD2000/HD3000 before that happens. Some browsers or gpu accelerated flash already taxes my Bobcat based HTPC fairly hard.

I'm no fan of shared memory either, but it does make sense in a HTPC. I think. I wouldn't bother with a 1155 system without discrete GPU, so all in all I'd go Llano for a HTPC.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Just get a Llano chip and be done with it, the onDie GPU will do everything you need for no extra cost.

 

[exar333]

True, I can get away with using much less, but I have been given a budget of around $400 by my kind wife, so I plan to maximize the value for the money.

So I think the i3-530, nVidia 430 and the ASRock with USB 3.0 and SATA 3 is pretty amazing for that little bit of money.

And I will get buttery smooth playback, along with the ability to drop an Ivy Bridge proc down the road!

Look's good!

 

[Arkaign]

Way faster than the HD2000/HD3000 though. For HTML5 and such I think Llano makes a lot of sense. No doubt that somewhere way down the road even the Llano GPU will become a bottleneck, but then you'll always have the option to go discrete GPU. It'll last much longer than the HD2000/HD3000 before that happens. Some browsers or gpu accelerated flash already taxes my Bobcat based HTPC fairly hard.

I'm no fan of shared memory either, but it does make sense in a HTPC. I think. I wouldn't bother with a 1155 system without discrete GPU, so all in all I'd go Llano for a HTPC.

Without a discrete card, just the Llano GPU vs. Intel GPU, yeah Llano for sure. I hate onboard though, so for me I've gotta have a discrete card. Once you are using discrete, then S1155 is better than FM1 for now, and likely the remaining future of each socket. FM2, on the other hand, could lead somewhere .. that is if AMD is willing to make Trinity good enough for us to forget about Bulldozer.

 

[gmaster456]

True, I can get away with using much less, but I have been given a budget of around $400 by my kind wife, so I plan to maximize the value for the money.

So I think the i3-530, nVidia 430 and the ASRock with USB 3.0 and SATA 3 is pretty amazing for that little bit of money.

And I will get buttery smooth playback, along with the ability to drop an Ivy Bridge proc down the road!

How will you get Ivy Bridge with a 530? Thats 1156, not 1155. Unless I'm missing something, you won't be able to go with Ivy Bridge

 

[Belegost]

Pretty sure he means the SB Celeron 530.

 

[Arkaign]

Pretty sure he means the SB Celeron 530.

Definitely. Easy to confuse them with the model numbers.

The worst ever IMHO was releasing the Pentium E6600 Socket 775, when there had already been a Core 2 Duo E6600 Socket 775 lol.

 

[Arg Clin]

Without a discrete card, just the Llano GPU vs. Intel GPU, yeah Llano for sure. I hate onboard though, so for me I've gotta have a discrete card. Once you are using discrete, then S1155 is better than FM1 for now, and likely the remaining future of each socket. FM2, on the other hand, could lead somewhere .. that is if AMD is willing to make Trinity good enough for us to forget about Bulldozer.

I totally agree it depends on whether you go for intregrated or discrete. And that comes down to budget and need at the end of the day.

For a HTPC I'd say that a discrete GPU is a bit overkill at the moment - and wouldn't really bother with it. I think the Llano APU strikes a good balance for this particular type of use.

In case you need the power of a discrete GPU, then S1155 is the way to go.

 

[GamingDaemon]

How will you get Ivy Bridge with a 530? Thats 1156, not 1155. Unless I'm missing something, you won't be able to go with Ivy Bridge

What I meant is that I can remove the i3-530 down the road and drop in a newer 22nm proc that still uses the 1155 socket without having to upgrade the motherboard. I thought that was Ivy Bridge. Am I wrong?

 

[Arkaign]

To be clear, there are two 530 series Intel chips of late :

The Socket 1156 (obsolete socket now), which took the Core i3-530, Core i5-XXX, and Core i7-8XX (note the three digit designations for those Core i-series chips!)

The Socket 1155 (current socket and the one that supports 22nm IB chips) supports Core i3-2xxx, Core i5-2xxx, and Core i7-2xxx, etc. Also supports the Celeron 530 and Pentium 620.

So if you meant Celeron G530, then yes, that build will take the current 2500k/2600k/2700k type chips as well as the IB chips that are slated for 1155 (all quads AFAIK, I think the Hex IB chips are a different socket altogether).

 

[GamingDaemon]

To be clear, there are two 530 series Intel chips of late :

The Socket 1156 (obsolete socket now), which took the Core i3-530, Core i5-XXX, and Core i7-8XX (note the three digit designations for those Core i-series chips!)

The Socket 1155 (current socket and the one that supports 22nm IB chips) supports Core i3-2xxx, Core i5-2xxx, and Core i7-2xxx, etc. Also supports the Celeron 530 and Pentium 620.

So if you meant Celeron G530, then yes, that build will take the current 2500k/2600k/2700k type chips as well as the IB chips that are slated for 1155 (all quads AFAIK, I think the Hex IB chips are a different socket altogether).

Ok, cool. That's what I thought. I am pairing this CPU with this mobo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116409 (i3-G530. $52)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157236 (ASRock, $80)

Now, I just need a solid Blur Ray internal ODD and I am all done. Anyone have any recommendations?